PEORIA, Ariz. -- Opening Day is only a week away, and veteran closer Huston Street is still hopeful of getting an extension done with the Angels.

The feeling is apparently mutual, but the Angels could be in a holding pattern while awaiting word from Major League Baseball on a potential suspension for Josh Hamilton. Players aren't paid while suspended, and a suspension for Hamilton -- slated to make $23 million in 2015 -- could greatly impact the Angels' financial situation.

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Young right-hander Taijuan Walker continued his dominant spring for the Mariners by allowing just one run over seven innings and catcher Mike Zunino hit his seventh home run as Seattle beat the Angels, 5-3, on Monday at Peoria Stadium.

Walker, 22, allowed his first run in six Cactus League starts on a second-inning blast by Angels left fielder Matt Joyce, but closed out his day by recording 18 straight outs. He gave up three hits with no walks and five strikeouts, putting his spring ERA at 0.36 with nine hits, four walks and 24 strikeouts in 25 innings. Angels right-hander Nick Tropeano allowed four runs on seven hits in six-plus innings to put his Cactus League ERA at 4.41.

Angels could open season with eight-man bullpen

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Angels manager Mike Scioscia won't say so definitely, but chances are that Monday's Spring Training lineup against the Mariners at Peoria Sports Complex is the same one he'll roll out for Opening Day against the Mariners at Safeco Field in seven days.

Yes, that includes Johnny Giavotella, who seems to have locked down the job as the everyday second baseman -- even though he doesn't want to get ahead of himself.

Cron goes deep but Heaney struggles in loss

Angels top prospect felled by rough third inning

3/29/15: C.J. Cron hits a line-drive two-run blast to left field and cuts the Angels' deficit to two runs

By Cash Kruth
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MLB.com |

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Chris Dominguez hit a three-run home run and Brennan Boesch went 2-for-5 as the Reds beat the Angels, 8-6, on Sunday at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Cincinnati's Jason Marquis continued his solid spring, working six innings with three earned runs and three strikeouts. Angels starter Andrew Heaney, the club's No. 1 prospect per MLB.com, was once again burned by a big inning.

When the Los Angeles Angels traded second baseman Howie Kendrick to the Dodgers, it opened up a position that Kendrick had played since he appeared in 86 games in 2007. When I watched the Angels in Spring Training, the infield looked totally different without Kendrick playing second base.

At 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, right-handed-hitting Taylor Featherston is one of the candidates to replace Kendrick. While it's a huge order, Featherston has a nice mix of tools that could bode well for his new club.

Bernie Pleskoff has served as a professional scout for the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners. Follow @BerniePleskoff on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Lindstrom can't secure a spot in Angels bullpen, gets released

Veteran hopes to catch on with another club before Opening Day

Peter Gammons joins The Rundown to discuss the Angels' bullpen, Jered Weaver on the mound and Mookie Betts' and Rusney Castillo's strength

By Cash Kruth
/
MLB.com |

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Matt Lindstrom experienced a not-so-pleasant milestone Saturday morning when the veteran right-hander was released by the Angels.

Lindstrom, 35, signed a Minor League contract that included an opt-out deadline of Tuesday, March 31, if he wasn't on the active roster. It was the first time Lindstrom, who has a 3.68 ERA in 469 career starts, has been released.

Cash Kruth is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cashkruth. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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Cuban Baldoquin brings plenty of promise to Angels

Shortstop prospect has impressed with work ethic, attitude since defecting last year

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Baldoquin's solo home run 0:42

3/27/15: Roberto Baldoquin's first at-bat with the Angels ends up being a long solo home run in the bottom of the 8th inning

By Alden Gonzalez
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MLB.com |

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Maybe one day, when enough time has passed and the wound isn't so fresh, Roberto Baldoquin will share his escape story, because every Cuban defector has one. Thursday just wasn't that day. He was still settling in, to life as an Angels prospect, to baseball in the United States and to the logistics that come with it all.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- C.J. Wilson pitched through a nightmarish second inning and Mark Trumbo went 1-for-3 in his first game against his former team as the D-backs beat the Angels, 7-2, at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Friday.

The D-backs sent 10 batters to the plate in the top of the second inning. Seven of them reached based and five of them scored, but only two -- Trumbo and A.J. Pollock -- actually hit the ball hard against Wilson. There was a walk, an infield single, errors by shortstop Erick Aybar and third baseman Kyle Kubitza and a fly ball that fell between Efren Navarro and Josh Rutledge in shallow right field.

Healthy Pujols is in vintage form this spring

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Albert Pujols has never really had a bad Spring Training. He's hit at least .286 and as high as .407 over the last 10 springs, because he always shows up in shape and it never takes him long to find his timing.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Six players make up the giant photos that grace the Home Plate Gate of Angel Stadium every year, presumably an indication of the players considered faces of the franchise.

Since the end of last season, three players have been removed. One of them, Howie Kendrick, now plays for the Dodgers. Another, Josh Hamilton, is facing a potential suspension from Major League Baseball.

MESA, Ariz. -- Albert Pujols belted a three-run homer and an RBI double and C.J. Cron added a two-run triple to back Jered Weaver and lift the Angels to a 8-4 victory on Thursday over the Cubs. Weaver, expected to be the Angels' Opening Day starter, struck out eight over 5 1/3 innings.

Mike Olt belted a two-run homer in the fourth and pinch-hitter Travis Wood smacked a solo shot in the fifth for the Cubs, who rank second in the Majors with 32 home runs this spring.

MESA, Ariz. -- Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun exited Thursday's game early with a bruised right triceps muscle, a product of a first-inning hit by pitch and seemingly a precautionary move.

Calhoun took a fastball to the area by Cubs lefty Eric Jokisch while leading off the game at Sloan Park. He then slid hard into second base while trying to break up a double play, played a half-inning in the outfield and left the facility, with a trainer by his side, in the middle of the second inning.

Veteran reliever would become free agent if he does not make roster

MESA, Ariz. -- Decision time on Matt Lindstrom is five days away, at most.

By Tuesday, Lindstrom will either be a part of the Angels' bullpen or join the free-agent market all over again. The 35-year-old right-hander was signed to a Minor League contract and can opt out if he isn't placed on the active roster five days before Opening Day.

Fantastic Four: Competition at 2B wages on

Giavotella, Featherston, Green and Rutledge all making solid cases for Angels job

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Giavotella's RBI single 0:15

3/26/15: Johnny Giavotella sends a ground ball into center field to score Matt Joyce and tie the game at 1

By Nick Krueger
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Special to MLB.com |

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Position battles are as intertwined into the fabric of Spring Training as much as the fun-loving, laid-back atmosphere that descends on Arizona and Florida each March. Usually, a frontrunner emerges in the race for the right to take the field in the first inning on Opening Day.

Not the case for the Angels, where the four-way battle for the starting spot at second base is still as murky as the day Spring Training began.

Nick Krueger is a junior majoring in journalism at Arizona State University. This story is part of a Cactus League partnership between MLB.com and ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Daniel Robertson hit an RBI double and scored on C.J. Cron's sacrifice fly in the seventh, giving the Angels a one-run lead and paving the way for a 4-3 win over the Indians at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Wednesday.

Angels slugger has three homers in five games; lefty allows four runs, eight hits in 4 2/3

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Adam Rosales had a two-run double and Thomas Field had a three-run home run in a 10-run seventh inning that lifted the Rangers to a 15-8 win over the Angels on Tuesday afternoon at Surprise Stadium. Ed Lucas had a single and a double in the inning as well.

Rangers starter Nick Tepesch -- who is adding a slow curve to his arsenal -- went five innings and allowed three runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out one while throwing 67 pitches. Reigning American League MVP Mike Trout had a triple off him that led to two runs in the first and Albert Pujols had a long solo home run in the fourth.

Consensus top pick Trout talks fantasy baseball

Mike Trout doesn't play fantasy baseball, but he certainly hears about it a lot. How could he not, as the consensus No. 1 pick in fantasy leagues throughout the country for three years running? Trout is a fantasy owner's dream. He racks up singles (321 from 2012-14), doubles (105), triples (26), homers (93), RBIs (291), runs (353) and stolen bases (98), all in one 23-year-old package that is widely considered the best all-around talent in the game.

An avid fantasy football player, Trout understands the passion and competition that fantasy leagues inspire. In advance of Opening Day, MLB sat down with the Angels' superstar center fielder to discuss the allure of fantasy sports and his critical place in the midst of it all.

MLB.com: The Angels have a pretty competitive fantasy football league every year. What's the draw of playing in a fantasy league?